Continuous film processor



p 22, 1964 H. G. CRAMER 3,149,551

CONTINUOUS FILM PROCESSOR Filed Feb. 2, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 MYPO BDEVIESLTOPKR u BLERCR E /9 BRYH DEVE LOPER INVENTOR.

HENRY G. CRAMER BY m, M anew.

ATT'OR NEYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HENRY 6.CRAMER ATTORNEYS Sept. 22,1964 H. G. CRAMER CONTINUOUS FILM PROCESSOR Filed Feb. 2 1961 BY MmznuewI IS I p 1964 H. G. CRAMER 3,149,551 I CONTINUOUS FILM PROCESSORATTORNEYS.

P 1964 H. G. CRAMER commuous FILM PROCESSOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb.2, 1961 l I i I I a I I n I l 1 1 t I r l I I I I I l n l I l I I I 6INVENTOR.

HENRY 6. CRAMER ATTORNE Y5v United States Patent 3,1 9,551 CONTINUOUSFILM PRGCESSOR Henry Guy Crarner, Milwaukee, Wis, assignor to Carl T.Swanson, Milwaukee, Wis. Filed Feb. 2, 1961, Ser. No. 86,705 Ciaims.(Cl. 9594) The present invention relates generally to improvements inthe art of photography, and relates more particularly to improvements inthe construction and operation of processing apparatus for photographicfilm.

A primary object of the invention is to provide an improved portablefilm processor which is extremely simple and compact in construction andwhich is moreover highly efiicient and fiexible in use.

In the processing of photographic film, it is generally necessary toutilize expensive equipment requiring considerable space and a varietyof separate tank arrangements for use in different forms of processing.In addition, it is common practice to employ trained technical personnelfor processing such film to avoid excessive spoilage such as mightresult from excessive exposure to light and improper handling andtreatment at incorrect temperatures in the development and fixingsolutions. As a result, it has heretofore been common practice to sendthe exposed film to photographic development houses for processing thusnecessitating objectionable delays in obtaining the processed film.

It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide animproved continuous film processor which obviates the disadvantages andobjections herein-above set forth.

Another important object of my present invention is to provide animproved self-contained and portable apparatus adapted for effectivecontinuous processing of photographic film on-the-job and without needfor delay.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide animproved continuous film processor which, while extremely compact andportable, is nevertheless capable of performing various desired types ofprocessing such as negative processing of film, full reversalprocessing, microfilming or production of positive copies from theoriginal negative merely with simple modifications and adjustments whichmay be readily eifected.

An additional object of this invention is to provide an improvedself-contained, inexpensive and portable film processing apparatus whichmay be efiiciently operated by a novice with a minimum requirement oftechnical skill, instruction or supervision, and in which all conditionsimportant to proper processing, such as temperature, speed, and tankvariables and capacities, may be readily adjusted and controlled in asimple manner.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedportable and self-contained device for the complete processing ofphotographic film in which all parts are readily accessible foradjustment, cleaning and maintenance, and which may moreover be used forthe processing of all types of photographic film regardless of whetheror not such film is provided with sprocket holes.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the several features constituting the presentinvention, and of the construction and operation of a typical portablecontinuous film processor embodying the improvements, may be had byreferring to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of thisspecification wherein like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts in the various views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken from one side of one of my improvedcontinuous processors set-up and 3,149,551 Patented Sept. 22, 1984 readyfor processing but with the dark side cover being broken away to revealnormally concealed structure;

FIG. 2 is a view taken from the opposite side of the assembled devicewith the side cover removed and with the tempering and wash tank and oneof the interchangeable insert tanks being shown in section to revealinternal structure;

FIG. 3 is an end view looking into the drying chamber with the coverremoved therefrom;

FIG. 4 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary view of the film take-upassembly and drive belts;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary and part-sectional view looking intoone side of the device with the side cover removed and with a differenttank arrangement than that of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section through the tanks taken along the line 66of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken generallyalong the irregular line 77 of FIG. 2 and showing the drive arrangementand film circuitry;

FIG. 8 is another enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken generallyalong the irregular line 88 of FIG. 1 with the wash tank and end inserttank on one side being also shown in section to reveal hidden structure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing one possible tank arrangement forfilm processing with the improved device; and

FIG. 10 is a similar schematic diagram showing an alternate tankarrangement for processing film.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as beingespecially adapted for the processing of movie film and with certainspecific examples of processing being illustrated, it is not intended tounnecessarily limit or restrict the use of the improved features byreason there of, and it is also contemplated that certain specificdescriptive terms used herein shall be given the broadest possibleinterpretation consistent with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawings, the improved film processing apparatus showntherein as embodying the invention comprises, in general, a main frame15 suitably supported in upright position by two pairs of legs 1s, apair of primary or main tanks 17, 18 suspended from opposite sides ofthe frame 15, a plurality of secondary tanks 1%, 29 of differentcapacities for receiving processing fluid removably and interchangeablysuspended from the frame 15 so as to project into one or both of theprimary tanks 17, 18, means such as hereinafter described for guidingand advancing a photographic film 21 to be processed along a circuitouspath into and out of the secondary tanks 19, 20 and/ or one or the otherof the primary tanks 17, 18, and means for supplying fluid to theprimary tanks 17, 18, either from a fresh source of supply or byrecirculation with the aid of a pump 22 as hereinafter described.

To support the various elements within the frame while segregating theso-called dark side (FIG. 1) from the light side (FIG. 2) an uprightpartition 24 is secured Within the rectangular frame 15 in any suitablemanner, and the primary tanks 17, 18 may conveniently be removablysupported thereon at opposite sides by means of a plurality of hingedsupporting brackets 25, 26 respectively. Also secured to opposite sidesof the parti tion 24 are a pair of similar secondary frames 27, 28 eachhaving a plurality of depending pairs of spaced legs 30, and thesecondary tanks 19, 20 may be selectively removably and interchangeablysupported on the frames 27, 28 as by means of retainer pins 31 or thelike.

Projecting laterally from the dark side of the partition 24 adjacent oneend thereof is a shaft 33 for rotatably receiving the spool or reel 34of exposed film 21 to be processe. The end of the film 21 is initiallysupplied with a leader of suitable length to permit threading withoutdanger of exposure, and the leader and film are withi3 drawn from thereel 34 about an idler roller 35 rotatably supported on the partition 24for advancement in a circuitous path about a plurality of drivendoublerollers 36 carried by the upper portion of the secondary frame 27and a plurality of idler rollers 45 rotatably supported by the lowerends of the legs 30. Adjacent the opposite end of the partition 24 andalso on the dark side thereof, a pair of reversing idler rollers 38 arerotatably journalled on vertical shafts Suspended from the partition 24-by a bracket 39, and the advancing film is guided from the final drivenroller 36 about the rollers 38 and through a dark shield or tunnel 49back to the end of the partition 24 near the initial point ofwithdrawal, it being preferable to thread the film about all of therollers in a manner whereby its emulsion side remains up throughout itsadvancement.

From the dark side adjacent the closed end of the shield 41 the film 21is guided to the light side through a slot or aperture 42 in thepartition 24 by means of another pair of idler rollers 43 alsojournalled on vertical shafts and located on opposite sides of thepartition. The film 21 is then advanced from rollers 43 to the oppositeend of the light side along a circuitous path by means of a plurality ofdriven double draw rollers 44 carried by the upper portion of thesecondary frame 23 and a plurality of cooperating idler rollers 45supported for free rotation by the lower ends of the legs 31}. At theend of its travel on the light side, the film is advanced to an encloseddrying chamber 46 mounted on the end of the frame 15 remote from thereel 34 and is drawn through the drying chamber 46 along a circuitouspath by a plurality of driven rollers 47 and a plurality of cooperatingfreely rotatable rollers 43. Finally, the film 21 is withdrawn from thedrying chamber 46 through an end wall opening 49 and is wound on adriven spool or reel Sii carried by the arm 51 of a take-up assemblysuch as shown in detail in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 7, a suitable electric motor 53 secured to the lightside of the partition 24 adjacent to the drying chamber 46 is drivinglyconnected through a chain 54 and sprockets 55, 56 to the shaft 57 of theadjacent double drive rollers 36, 44' to drive the same. In turn,successive pairs of the shafts 58 carrying the drive rollers 36, 44 aredrivingly connected to the shaft 57 and to each other by means of chains59 and sprockets 61 to simultaneously drive all of the rollers 36, 44 atthe same speed as determined by the motor. The drive rollers 47 in thedrier section may also be simultaneously driven at the same speed bydrivingly connecting their common shaft 61 to the driven shaft 57 bymeans of a chain 62 and sprockets 63, and the take-up reel may be drivenfrom the shaft 61 as by means of belts 64, 64- and sheaves 65, 65'. Fromthis, it is apparent that the film to be processed is drawn at a givenspeed from the reel 34 and is advanced at the same speed along acircuitous path on the dark side of the partition 24 into and out of thetanks 17 and/or 19, 20 and is then reversed by means of the rollers 38through the dark shield 4-0 and about the rollers 43 to the light sideof the partition where it continues its advancement at the selectedspeed along a circuitous path into and out of the tanks 18 and/ or 19,21 to the drying chamber 46 through which it is drawn at the same speedalong a circuitous path until its withdrawal by the take-up reel 59.

To automatically stop the motor 53 in the event of film breakage duringoperation, a trip-switch 67 is provided, and this switch is mounted onthe dark side of the parti tion 24 with its idler roller 68 cooperatingwith the film 21 as it is drawn from the reel 34- since this is the onlycality in the path of film advancement in which the speed is notcoordinated with rotation of the reel 34 being furthermore resisted byspring tension in the usual manner to insure film tightness. Forconveniently removably receiving a dark cover 69, the frame i alsoprovided with a plurality of spaced magnetic catches 7t? and theperiphcry of the cover 69 is formed of a magnetic material in order tobe retained in position covering the partition 24 by magnetic force, andthe light side of the frame may also be provided with similar magneticcatches for receiving a cover 71 which can be readily removed and usedas a sump tray as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The end wall of the dryingchamber 46 may of course be removable to permit access to the interior,and Warm air may be circulated through the chamber 46 as by means of asuitable electrically operated blower 72.

The main tanks 17, 18 may be supplied with water procured either from asuitable separate source of supply or by recirculation with the aid ofthe pump 22, the water being conducted to the tank 17 and/ or tank 1?;in controlled amounts via conduits 74, 75 with overflow Water beingconducted from adjacent the tops of the tanks back to the sump tray 71by way of overflow pipes 76, '77. If recirculated, the pump outlet ordrain hose 78 is merely connected to the inlet side of the fitting 79which is, in turn, connected to the conduits 74, and if an outsidesupply is utilized, it is only necessary to attach the supply hose St tothe fitting 79. Water circulated from an outside source may furthermorebe tempered to aid in controlling and maintaining proper temperatures inthe several tanks 17, 18, 19, 2t), and for this purpose, cold water fromthe line 81 and hot water from the line 82 is conducted through a watertemperature regulator 83 to the supply hose 89, a temperature gauge 84being provided for aiding in proper regulation and a valve 85 beingprovided for controlling flow.

The secondary tanks 19, 21 may be supplied with measured quantities ofselected processing fluids as with the aid of a funnel or the like, andthe light side of the processor may be provided with a re-expose lampassembly 87 secured to the frame 15 or partition 24 in a suitablemanner. To agitate the processing fluids in the several tanks 19, 2thfor maximum performance, an & pump 88 is also provided for furnishingair to the lower portions of the tanks 19, 21 via conduits 89, 99, theair supply to the several tanks being controlled by valves 91 to therebycontrol the amount of agitation. Adjustments in the tension of the drivebelt 64' of the take-up reel 51 may be effected by means of anadjustment screw 92. cooperating with the hinged arm 93 of the take-upassembly.

In operation, the electrically operated components are all connected toa suitable source of electricity, and the water supply conduits for themain tanks are connected to a suitable water source or to the sump pumpin case recirculation is desired, the sump pump 22 being placed in thesump tank 71 as shown in FIG. 1. The secondary tanks 19, 20 are thenfilled with measured amounts of selected processing solutions, and thewater supply is turned on and caused to how until proper temperature isobtained at which time the water is shut off until processing begins.The air valves 91 may then be adjusted to provide for the proper amountof agitation in the tanks 19, 2t and the processor is then ready forloading, a leader having been previously threaded along the dark andlight sides, through the drying chamber and attached to the take-up reel59. The exposed spool of film 34 as removed from the camera is thenattached to the spool shaft 33 of the processor with the emulsion sideof the film uppermost on the rollers, and the end of the film is stapledto the leader in the machine. The dark cover d9 is then attached to thedark side by means of the magnetic catches 70, and as a precautionarymeasure, the cover may be additionally fastened by means of a strap.With the reexposure lamp 87, drive motor 53, heater-blower 72, air pump88, and sump pump 22 all connected to a suitable source of electriccurrent, the water supply and the operating switches may be turned onand the film 21 will proceed through the machine along the pathpreviously de scribed until all of the film is withdrawn from the reel34 at which time the machine will automatically stop by virtue of thetrip switch 67 which automatically shuts off the re-exposure lamp andthe heater-blower unit. The dark cover may then be removed and themachine readied for subsequent use.

From the foregoing detailed description, it is believed apparent thatthe present invention contemplates the provision of an extremely compactand highly portable film processor which is extremely flexible in itsadaptations and in which control of the temperatures and agitation maybe maintained within exceedingly close limits for most efiicientprocessing. The sizes and numbers of secondary tanks 19, 20 may bereadily varied by interchanging the same to accommodate or performdifferent processing operations, and two examples of tank arrangementspossible with the improved machine are shown schematically in FIGS. 9and 10. For example, FIG. 9 shows a typical tank arrangement used fornegative processing in which the larger size secondary tanks 20 are usedfor the first and second and fourth and fifth legs of the frame 27, thethird, sixth, seventh and eighth legs being immersed in the smallersingle run tanks 19 on the dark side of the machine, and on the lightside, the film is washed thoroughly in the large tank 10 with the finalleg depending into a single run secondary tank 19 just prior toWithdrawal of the film from the light side to the drier. The contents ofthe various tanks used in the example shown in FIG. 9 are indicated inthe drawing, but these may be varied to meet desired needs and differenttypes of processing. As for the example shown in FIG. 10, this is atypical tank layout for reversal processing, and it will be noted thatthe dark side in this illustration includes the larger tanks 20 for thefirst and second and the fifth and sixth legs of the frame 27 with thesingle tanks 19 being used for the third, fourth, seventh and eighthlegs, and on the light side, single tanks 19 are used for all of thelegs on the frame 28.

While only two specific examples of the tank setups have beenillustrated herein, it should nevertheless be understood that any numberof combinations may be used depending upon the type of processing to beperformed, and the variances in the types of processing fluids as wellas the tank sizes and quantities of such liquids used are within theknowledge of persons skilled in the art.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention.

1 claim:

1. Photographic film processing apparatus comprising,

a main frame, a drying compartment secured to said frame at an endthereof, an upright partition secured within said frame, a pair or maintanks removably supported by said partition on opposite sides thereof, aplurality of secondary tanks removably and interchangeably suspendedfrom opposite sides of said partition and projecting into said maintanks, means for rotatably supporting a reel of film to be processed onone side of said partition, means for guiding and advancing the film tobe processed from said reel along a circuitous path into and out of saidsecondary tanks along said one ,side of said partition, means forcontinuing the advancement of said film along a circuitous path into andout of said secondary tanks alon said opposite side of said partition,means for supplying fiuid to each of said main tanks, said secondarytanks being separately supplied with processing fluid, and means forfinally withdrawing said film from said tanks and advancing the same ina circuitous path through said drying compartment, whereby the frame andupright partition function as the sole supporting and carrying means forall of the elements thus enabling the device to be renderedself-contained and portable.

2. Photographic film processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinmeans are also provided for selectively admitting controlled supplies ofair under pressure to the secondary tanks for independently agitatingthe processing fluid in each of said secondary tanks.

3. Photographic film processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereina laterally removable light-proof cover is detachably secured to eachside of the frame for covering all of the tanks on the respective side.

4. Photographic film processing apparatus according to claim 3, whereinthe covers are magnetically secured to the frame.

5. Photographic film processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereina fan is secured to and supported by the drying compartment forcirculating air therethrough.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,810,209 Haynes June 16, 1931 1,880,450 Hickman et al Oct. 4, 19322,551,892 Mitchell May 8, 1951 2,747,482 Gacki et al. May 29, 19562,810,332 Dignan Oct. 22, 1957 2,902,914 Bye et a1. Sept. 8, 19592,913,975 Bridgman et al. Nov. 24, 1959 3,076,401 Djadjich Feb. 5, 1963

1. PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM PROCESSING APPARATUS COMPRISING, A MAIN FRAME, ADRYING COMPARTMENT SECURED TO SAID FRAME AT AN END THEREOF, AN UPRIGHTPARTITION SECURED WITHIN SAID FRAME, A PAIR OF MAIN TANKS REMOVABLYSUPPORTED BY SAID PARTITION ON OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF, A PLURALITY OFSECONDARY TANKS REMOVABLY AND INTERCHANGEABLY SUSPENDED FROM OPPOSITESIDES OF SAID PARTITION AND PROJECTING INTO SAID MAIN TANKS, MEANS FORROTATABLY SUPPORTING A REEL OF FILM TO BE PROCESSED ON ONE SIDE OF SAIDPARTITION, MEANS FOR GUIDING AND ADVANCING THE FILM TO BE PROCESSED FROMSAID REEL ALONG A CIRCUITOUS PATH INTO AND OUT OF SAID SECONDARY TANKSALONG SAID ONE SIDE OF SAID PARTITION, MEANS FOR CONTINUING THEADVANCEMENT OF SAID FILM ALONG A CIRCUITOUS PATH INTO AND OUT OF SAIDSECONDARY TANKS ALONG SAID OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID PARTITION, MEANS FORSUPPLYING FLUID TO EACH OF SAID MAIN TANKS, SAID SECONDARY TANKS BEINGSEPARATELY SUPPLIED WITH PROCESSING FLUID, AND MEANS FOR FINALLYWITHDRAWING SAID FILM FROM SAID TANKS AND ADVANCING THE SAME IN ACIRCUITOUS PATH THROUGH SAID DRYING COMPARTMENT, WHEREBY THE FRAME ANDUPRIGHT PARTITION FUNCTION AS THE SOLE SUPPORTING AND CARRYING MEANS FORALL OF THE ELEMENTS THUS ENABLING THE DEVICE TO BE RENDEREDSELF-CONTAINED AND PORTABLE.